Barak: Not the End We'd Hoped For

Defense Minister Ehud Barak, speaking at the funeral of fallen IDF soldier Eldad Regev, told the fallen soldier's family and friends, "The painful march of two years is over and you have been left with unending sorrow." Barak noted Regev’s connection to Torah, declaring him “a man of Torah, faith and study” who was almost finished with his law studies at Bar Ilan University.

Barak also spoke about captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, still held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, and swore that: “As a former commander on the battlefield and in special operations, I promise that the IDF will do everything to return our soldiers, fallen, injured, missing…this is the bond between the IDF, its fighters and the people of Israel.”

Barak ended his words with “I am sorry we couldn’t return you alive, and I pray you can rest here in peace. As a former commander, I salute you.”